About : This eBook is by Tina Tran, a ‘creative explorer’ and member of the Popperbox artist collective.
As part of the Lattice::Sydney project a simple Sketchbook was produced to explore the projects and ideas being generated in the workshop. It was created on the Generator and printed out so that it would be filled in by hand – with space to write, draw, glue and attach. The resulting books are scanned in and remade into eBooks to be shared and distributed.
Lattice::Sydney aims to explore new approaches to creatively transforming our cities and included a workshop with a diverse group of artists and cultural leaders to produce new ideas, perspectives and plans of action. Lattice is part of Proboscis’ larger Lattice East Asia exploring the ways diverse communities engage with their environment and issues of cities and sustainability; viewing the city through the eyes of those who live in it. Lattice is part of the British Council’s “Creative Cities” – a three year cultural and artistic partnership between East Asia and the UK.
About : This eBook is by Matt Huynh participant in Lattice::Sydney. He is a Sydney based comic creator and illustrator. Huynh’s graphic novels span a diverse variety of genres from surrealist fantasy to polemical essays, dramas and autobiography. His comics work has received recognition from Ledger Award for Excellence in Australian Comic Arts and Publishing, the Australian Cartoonist’s Association, ABC and Sydney Morning Herald. His inky, energetic brushwork has appeared on magazines and prints to clothing, accessories, health resources, tattoos, film, performance projections, vinyl toys and dolls. When he’s not at the drawing table, he can be found conducting instructional workshops, public presentations, exhibitions and live art demonstrations. He’s been known to operate under the pseudonym ‘STiKMAN’, having taken a bad high-school nickname to heart.
As part of the Lattice::Sydney project a simple Sketchbook was produced to explore the projects and ideas being generated in the workshop. It was created on the Generator and printed out so that it would be filled in by hand – with space to write, draw, glue and attach. The resulting books are scanned in and remade into eBooks to be shared and distributed.
Lattice::Sydney aims to explore new approaches to creatively transforming our cities and included a workshop with a diverse group of artists and cultural leaders to produce new ideas, perspectives and plans of action. Lattice is part of Proboscis’ larger Lattice East Asia exploring the ways diverse communities engage with their environment and issues of cities and sustainability; viewing the city through the eyes of those who live in it. Lattice is part of the British Council’s “Creative Cities” – a three year cultural and artistic partnership between East Asia and the UK.
About : This eBook is by Artist David Capra a participant in Lattice::Sydney. David Capra is a visual artist and sculptor, who recently returned from a year-long excursion around Europe where he received the Piemontese del Mondo Arts Award sponsored by the region of Piedmont, Italy. He has also been a finalist in the Qantas Spirit of Youth Award both in 2006 and 2007. In 2006 he was named one of Australia’s top 25 young artists by Art and Australia. www.davidcapra.com
As part of the Lattice::Sydney project a simple Sketchbook was produced to explore the projects and ideas being generated in the workshop. It was created on the Generator and printed out so that it would be filled in by hand – with space to write, draw, glue and attach. The resulting books are scanned in and remade into eBooks to be shared and distributed.
Lattice::Sydney aims to explore new approaches to creatively transforming our cities and included a workshop with a diverse group of artists and cultural leaders to produce new ideas, perspectives and plans of action. Lattice is part of Proboscis’ larger Lattice East Asia exploring the ways diverse communities engage with their environment and issues of cities and sustainability; viewing the city through the eyes of those who live in it. Lattice is part of the British Council’s “Creative Cities” – a three year cultural and artistic partnership between East Asia and the UK.
Abstract : Second in a series of eBooks created by Bev Carter as part of Proboscis’ Generator Case Study Residencies. This eBook has been designed for students at the village school in Umologho to fill in, responding to questions asked about them and their lives by British schoolchildren who have previously encountered the paintings and stories of the ‘A Little Something About Me’ project. This eNotebook will, in turn, enable the children of Umologho to ask questions of British schoolchildren in a future eBook for the project, In this way we hope to establish an evolving dialogue across continents and cultures.
Published November 2007
Bev Carterhas been developing an arts and communication project with students in Umologho village, Nigeria since December 2006. “I’m excited that there are many ways that the eBook can be used explore how people feel about and interpret the environment around them, using pictures and words. I like the idea that thoughts, on the run, can be captured.” Bev is finding ways to share this information between young people in Nigeria and England. Contact bevalittlesomething@hotmail.co.uk
In addition to using the Diffusion eBook format to publish essays and artists books, Proboscis has also been using it to create notebooks for specific activities and projects. The eBook format allows us to design and distribute a notebook that participants in a project or workshop can fill in by hand (writing, drawing or adding stickers as they wish) which can then be scanned and turned back into a PDF file for sharing – either within the group or more widely. This ‘virtuous circle’ moving from digital to material to digital is at the core of the ‘Shareables’ concept. We have designed the Shareables so that they can be used without always needing a computer, but still providing a path for capturing and sharing digitally.
Proboscis has successfully used ‘eNotebooks‘ in our schools projects as learning diaries (e.g. Sound Scavenging, Everyday Archaeology and Experiencing Democracy) and, in our community projects as a simple means of gathering local knowledge and information (e.g. Robotic Feral Public Authoring, St. Marks and Conversations and Connections).
Learning Diaries
The eNotebooks have been very effective for the schoolchildren participating in our projects, giving them a single place to record and reflect on what they have learned from the different activities and how they are integrated into everyday learning. Over the three years we have collaborated with the Jenny Hammond Primary school on Social Tapestries projects, we have worked ever more closely with the teachers to use the learning diaries to make the bridge between the activities of the workshop and what the children are learning as part of everyday school. The diaries themselves are also an invaluable tool for the teachers and us to gauge each child’s engagement with the project and its concepts – some children choose to do the minimum whilst others spend considerable time and effort embellishing their drawings and writings. This serves an additional function in helping to assess the impact on learning that the workshop has had – the diaries show how the children are absorbing new ideas, vocabulary and improving their spelling as the project progresses.
Field Notebooks
We have also used the eNotebooks in community-based projects and workshops to record knowledge about places and communities. The eNotebooks offer a familiar ‘interface’ and technology (paper and pens) that is very inclusive and engaging – allowing people to write, draw or stick photos into them. In communities and situations where access to computers and broadband internet was not possible the eNotebooks allowed us to design a simple and effective means of asking open (but targeted) questions and enabling people to complete them there and then or post them back to us at their leisure. We see many other possible uses of this kind of eNotebook for researchers in the field doing ethnographic or anthropological studies.
We have also speculated on using the Diffusion Generator in brainstorming activities, where the eBooks are used to create iterations or snapshots of the process in situ. This would both provide an immediate outcome to the activity, but also document the creative processes along the way.
Evaluation Tool
Proboscis has begun to experiment with creating structured notebooks for people to give feedback and evaluation on an event (such as a conference or workshop) or project. The StoryCubes have also been used in this way – at the Enter Festival in Cambridge (April 2007) conference delgates helped create a landscape of ideas, images and themes relating to the event. Futurelab also used the StoryCubes to engage delegates at their Why Don’t You… conference (October 2007) in mapping and exploring ideas relating to new education practices and uses of innovative technologies in schools and learning. Proboscis also uses the StoryCubes as a notetaking tool (instead of taking minutes) for its own advisory group meetings, enabling us to combine the questions and observations that the group members note down in an ever-growing and evolving landscape.
Other Ideas
One of our key aims for Diffusion is to explore its uses in places (such as developing countries) with poor access to publishing technologies (both traditional print and electronic). A Diffusion eBook can, of course, be made with nothing more than some blank sheets of paper which can then be written and drawn on – or even have sections of typwritten text pasted onto them. Once made, these unique handmade books can be scanned and turned into Shareable eBooks (PDF files), endlessly reproducible and distributable through email and web downloads.
Examples: we plan to make some illustrative examples available soon
About : a participant eNotebook for conference delegates to record and share their experiences at Enter Conference, Cambridge, April 2007 made by Proboscis as part of the Public Authoring Zone.
Published April 2007
Proboscis is an artist-led creative studio based in London, UK.
About: a sample learning eNotebook for a UK Online Centre project.
Published April 2007
Kevin Harris is a community development consultant and writer (Local Level). He blogs on neighbourhoods, neighbourliness, social capital and life at local level.
Abstract : an eNotebook learning diary created for Year 4 students at Jenny Hammond Primary school during the Everyday Archaeology project, June 2006, as part of Social Tapestries.
Published June 2006
Loren Chasse is a sound artist and educator based in San Francisco, California.
Giles Lane is founder and Co-Director of Proboscis.
Orlagh Woods works for Proboscis as part of the core team with particular responsibility for creative development and evaluation.
About : an eNotebook for residents of the Havelock Estate to record and share information, stories or memories etc about the local environment. Created by Proboscis as part of our Social Tapestries project, Conversations and Connections (2005-06), funded by the Ministry of Justice.
Published November 2005
Proboscis is an artist-led studio. The creative team on this project included Alice Angus, Camilla Brueton, Kevin Harris, Giles Lane & Orlagh Woods.
About : an eNotebook created by Proboscis for a community workshop on pollution sensing in London Fields, held at Space Media in November 2005. The workshop was part of the Social Tapestries project, Robotic Feral Public Authoring.
Published November 2005
Proboscis is an artist-led studio. The creative team on this project included Alice Angus, Camilla Brueton, Giles Lane & Orlagh Woods.
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You may prefer to support us by purchasing a pack of StoryCubes to make your own story landscapes with – for storytelling projects, workshops, education or evaluation activities.
